Swimming with the Sharks

By Sarah Zoloth12.04.15

Earlier this month, I was able to attend a Concur Fusion event in Washington, D.C.. Aside from the usual benefits to this event, like meeting customers and prospects face-to-face and getting the chance to talk more about Oversight, we were also invited to participate in an exciting “Shark Tank Meets Speed Dating” event hosted by Concur. At the event, Oversight and six other Concur app center partners got the chance to give a short 5-minute presentation to an audience of “sharks” who were deciding which app partner was, hypothetically, the best company to invest in. The participants varied, and along with Oversight’s expense audit solution, other technologies featured services such as VAT auditing, mileage tracking, catering, and more!

One of the most interesting parts of the event was the polling- we used a service that allowed everyone in the audience to text in their responses to polls, and displayed the results in real time. Before the presentations started, the host asked the audience to vote on what issue was most pressing for their expense program- and by a long shot, people voted for “fraud and abuse in T&E programs.” While good for my chances of winning, this ALSO said to me that out-of-compliance activity is a true concern for Travel and Expense managers and that Oversight could provide a lot of value. This gave me lots of confidence for my presentation because I knew what I was saying would be relevant to the audience.

To build on the enthusiasm of the polling exercise, I started by asking the audience some questions about their T&E program and audit practices; most tellingly, no one in the room raised their hand when I asked who enjoys auditing expense reports. I went on to explain how Oversight is the better way- how we make their lives easier, make auditing more effective and less time consuming, and at the end I detailed all the benefits our clients see.

I spent the majority of my 5 minutes talking about the kind of things we’ve helped companies uncover, and as always, got a great collective gasp at our Doggy Day Care story. It was really fun to see people laugh at some of the stories, and I caught a few people looking concerned as well, maybe worrying about their own program. At the end, we took another vote and Oversight was selected as the app partner most of the ‘sharks’ would invest in. Because the other presentations were so great, I was especially honored to be the winner.

Overall, I think people’s reactions and their votes really proved that Oversight is a great complement to any Concur system as it addresses issues at the forefront of people’s minds. As always, I have to mention how the whole environment of the Concur event was conducive and a great way to share more about Oversight. We look forward to the next one!